Woman in a Red Dress

Woman in a Red Dress
Head of a Black Woman
Artist	Gabriël Metsu
Year	1667
Dimensions	22.9 cm (9.0 in) × 17.8 cm (7.0 in)
Location	Polesden Lacey
Collection	National Trust
Accession No.	1246502
Identifiers	Art UK artwork ID: woman-in-a-red-dress-217806

Woman in a Red Dress is a painting attributed to the Dutch artist Gabriël Metsu, created c. 1660–1669. It has been in England since 1828, and in the collection of Polesden Lacey in Surrey since 1922.

History and description

The motif of a figure presented in a "niche" follows a style made popular by Metsu's teacher and Dutch Golden Age painter Gerrit Dou. The female figure is a black woman dressed in a red bodice similar to that worn by Metsu's wife Isabella de Wolff in a portrait he painted soon after their wedding in Enkhuizen in 1658. Like other contemporary Leiden fijnschilders, Metsu has chosen the subject of a niche or window to frame his subject. The popular motif generally includes a curtain for a dramatic effect, and though Metsu painted curtains sparingly, he has chosen to place his subject prominently in front of a closed curtain here. Her portrayal at first glance needs no other supporting commentary, unlike his other "niche" paintings which are adorned with details in the typical "Dou" manner. A closer look reveals an interesting bas-relief under the window, which appears to be a variation by Metsu on François Duquesnoy's frieze of Children Playing with a Goat. Though its meaning is lost, the frieze offers a clue (along with her dress) that this woman was someone connected to Metsu's circle and was possibly a model for other painters in Leiden.

• 
  Portrait of Isabella de Wolff in the same dress, but with a chemise
• 
  Metsu's self-portrait at a window, with a bust by Duquesnoy
• 
  Dou's The Grocer's Shop, with the frieze

External links

• A Negress, at a Window in the Polesden Lacey catalogue of c. 1942, on archive.org
• The Great British Art Tour: a girl with a pearl earring, 14 April 2021 article in The Guardian